Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork

ABSTRACT

A billing system is provided that allows a consumer to order products from computers connected to the Internet, wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the ordered good or service by its telephone service provider. The billing system comprises a plug-in component ( 52, 52′ ), a billing server component ( 62, 62′ ), and in some embodiments, a merchant session gateway component ( 65 ). When a consumer orders a product over the Internet ( 20 ), the plug-in component ( 52 ) of the consumer&#39;s computer ( 42 ) establishes an Internet connection to a billing server ( 34 ) located elsewhere on the Internet ( 20 ) to order the product. In a first embodiment, the billing server component ( 62 ) of the billing server ( 34 ) transfers an encrypted version of the product to the plug-in component ( 52 ). The plug-in component ( 52 ) then disconnects from the Internet ( 20 ) and establishes a point-to-point (PPP) connection with the billing server ( 34 ). During the PPP connection, the billing server component ( 64 ) transfers an access key assigned to the order to the plug-in component ( 52 ) so that the plug-in component ( 52 ) may decrypt the product. The consumer is charged a unit rate or “drop-charge” for the product by the telephone service provider when the PPP connection is established using a premium telephone number assigned and administered by the telephone service provider. In a second embodiment, the consumer is charged a per minute rate for his or her time spent accessing the product, rather than a drop-charge. In the second embodiment, the billing server component ( 62′ ) transfers a premium telephone number associated with the ordered product to the plug-in component( 52′ ) rather than an encrypted version of the product. The plug-in component ( 52′ ) then establishes a PPP connection with the billing server ( 34 ) using the premium telephone number during which the consumer&#39;s computer ( 42 ) downloads the ordered product from a merchant server ( 39 ) located elsewhere in the Internet ( 42 ). The consumer is then billed for the ordered product based on the duration of the PPP connection established using the premium telephone number. Prior to downloading the ordered product, the merchant session gateway component ( 65 ) provides the plug-in component ( 52′ ) with the information necessary for locating and accessing the ordered product.

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

1. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/299,156, filed Apr. 22, 1999, and entitled METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR ORDERING GOODS AND SERVICES OVER AN INTERNETWORK. Thesubject matter of application Ser. No. 09/299,156 is incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

2. This invention generally relates to a method and apparatus forallowing a consumer to order goods, services and content from one ormore other computers connected via common communication links and, morespecifically, a method and apparatus for allowing a consumer to ordergoods, services and content from computers connected to the Internet,wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the ordered goods,services or content by its telephone service provider.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

3. Communication networks are well known in the computer communicationsfield. By definition, a network is a group of computers and associateddevices that are connected by communications facilities or links.Network communications can be of a permanent nature, such as via cables,or can be of a temporary nature, such as connections made throughtelephone or radio links. Networks may vary in size, from a local areanetwork (LAN) consisting of a few computers or workstations and relateddevices; to a wide area network (WAN) which interconnects computers andLANs that are geographically dispersed; to a remote access service (RAS)which interconnects remote computers via temporary communication links.An internetwork, in turn, is the joining of multiple computer networks,both similar and dissimilar, by means of gateways or routers thatfacilitate data transfer and conversion from various networks. Awell-known abbreviation for the term internetwork is “internet.” Ascurrently understood, the capitalized term “Internet” refers to thecollection of networks and routers that use the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with one another.

4. A representative section of the Internet 20 is shown in FIG. 1 (PriorArt) in which a plurality of local area networks (LANs) 24 and a widearea network (WAN) 26 are interconnected by routers 22. The routers 22are generally special purpose computers used to interface one LAN or WANto another. Communication links within the LANs may be twisted wirepair, or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks mayutilize 56 Kbps analog telephone lines, or 1 Mbps digital T-1 linesand/or 45 Mbps T-3 lines. Further, computers and other relatedelectronic devices can be remotely connected to either the LANs 24 orthe WAN 26 via a modem and temporary telephone link. Such computers andelectronic devices 28 are shown in FIG. 1 as connected to one of theLANs 24 via a dotted line. It will be appreciated that the Internetcomprises a vast number of such interconnected networks, computers, androuters and that only a small, representative section of the Internet 20is shown in FIG. 1.

5. The Internet has recently seen explosive growth by virtue of itsability to link computers located throughout the world. As the Internethas grown, so has the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is a vast collectionof interconnected or “hypertext” documents written in HyperText MarkupLanguage (HTML) that are electronically stored at “Web sites” throughoutthe Internet. A Web site is a server connected to the Internet that hasmass storage facilities for storing hypertext documents and that runsadministrative software for handling requests for those stored hypertextdocuments. A hypertext document normally includes a number ofhyperlinks, i.e., highlighted portions of text which link the documentto another hypertext document possibly stored at a Web site elsewhere onthe Internet. Each hyperlink is associated with a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) that provides the exact location of the linked document ona server connected to the Internet and describes the document. Thus,whenever a hypertext document is retrieved from any Web server, thedocument is considered to be retrieved from the WWW.

6. A consumer is allowed to retrieve hypertext documents from the WWW,i.e., a consumer is allowed to “surf the Web,” via a Web browser. A Webbrowser, such as Netscape's Navigator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer,is a software program implemented by a Web client, i.e., the consumer'scomputer, to provide a graphical user interface to the WWW. Upon requestfrom the consumer via the Web browser, the Web client accesses andretrieves the desired hypertext document from the appropriate Web serverusing the URL for the document and a protocol known as HyperTextTransfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTP is a higher-level protocol then TCP/IPand is designed specifically for the requirements of the WWW. It is usedon top of TCP/IP to transfer hypertext documents between servers andclients.

7. At the advent of the WWW, the information stored on the Internet wasfreely transferred back and forth between those parties interested inthe information. However, the WWW is quickly becoming a channel ofcommerce whereby a vast number and array of companies have developedtheir own Web sites for advertising and selling their goods andservices. Consumers may “visit the Web site” of a company, i.e.,retrieve the hypertext documents located on the Web server of aparticular company, and order any good or service the company has tooffer. If that good or service is in the form of electronically storedinformation, such as a book, a video, a music CD, a computer game, etc.,the consumer may simply download the good or service from the company'sWeb site to his or her computer for immediate consumption and use. Ifthe good or service is of a more tangible nature, such as an applianceor article of clothing ordered from an on-line catalog, a moreconventional method of delivery, e.g., the postal service, is used. Thetraditional method of payment for such goods and services has been bymajor credit card, wherein the consumer is required to transmit his orher credit information over the Internet to the company's Web site.However, many question the security and confidentiality of suchelectronic transmissions. Furthermore, many consumers do not have amajor credit card with which to make such purchases. Alternative billingsystems, such as providing credit information by facsimile or postalservice, are much less convenient and often prove enough of a barrier toprohibit the sale altogether. Finally, the traditional methods ofbilling and payment do not adequately protect the seller or consumerfrom fraudulent purchases.

8. In addition to goods and services, many companies also wish toprovide consumers with “premium content,” i.e., hypertext documents andother electronically stored and transferable information considered tohave a monetary value to the company. Examples of such premium contentmay include magazine articles, proprietary databases, movies, stockinformation, radio broadcasts, etc. The traditional method of paymentfor accessing such content has also been by major credit card, whereinthe consumer pays for a subscription to the content and is required totransmit his or her credit information over the Internet to thecompany's Web site. Again, this method billing and payment does notadequately protect the seller or consumer from fraudulent purchases anddoes not provide the consumer with adequate security.

9. Accordingly, a more effective method and apparatus for ordering andbilling for goods, services and content over a network, and ultimatelythe Internet, is needed. The method and apparatus should provide forautomatic billing to the consumer without the need of a credit card ortransferring any sensitive credit information via the Internet. Inaddition, the consumer should be allowed to use the purchased good orservice, if downloaded, only after billing is completed. Finally, themethod and apparatus should prevent consumers with histories ofnonpayment from purchasing additional goods, services and/or content.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

10. The present invention provides a computer program for orderingproducts, including goods, services and content, from computersconnected to the Internet, wherein the consumer is automatically billedfor the ordered good, service or content by its telephone serviceprovider. In one actual embodiment of the invention, the billing systemcomprises a plug-in component and a billing server component. When aconsumer orders a product over the Internet, the plug-in componentestablishes an Internet connection to a billing server located elsewhereon the Internet. In response, the billing server component transfers atransaction I.D. identifying the order to the plug-in component. Theplug-in component then disconnects from the Internet and establishes apoint-to-point (PPP) connection with the billing server. Once the PPPconnection is established, the plug in component transfers thetransaction I.D. back to the billing server component. The billingserver component then transfers the access key assigned to the orderidentified by the transaction I.D. to the plug-in component. Theconsumer uses the access key to claim the ordered product. The consumeris charged for the product automatically by the telephone serviceprovider when the PPP connection is established using a telephone numberassigned and administered by the telephone service provider.

11. In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, thebilling server component also transfers an encrypted version of theordered product to the plug-in component before the plug-in componentsdisconnects from the Internet. The plug-in component then uses theaccess key to decrypt the encrypted version of the product.

12. In another embodiment of the present invention, the billing systemcomprises a plug-in component, a billing server component and a merchantserver component for ordering products, such as premium content, overthe Internet for which the consumer will be billed at a per minute ratefor accessing the content. When the consumer orders the product over theInternet, the plug-in component establishes a premium telephonecommunication link to a billing server located elsewhere on the Internetand transfers the order for the product to the billing server. Thebilling server component then establishes an Internet connection with amerchant server capable of providing the ordered product and forwardsthe order for the product to the merchant server. In response, themerchant server component supplies the billing server component and theplug-in component with the information necessary for the plug-incomponent to locate and access the ordered product. The consumer is thencharged for the ordered product by the telephone service provider as theconsumer accesses the ordered product during the premium telephonecommunication link with the billing server. More specifically, theconsumer is charged for the duration of the premium telephone link at apredetermined rate associated with the ordered product and the premiumtelephone communication link.

13. In accordance, with yet other aspect of the present invention, thebilling server component provides the plug-in component with a premiumtelephone number and the predetermined rate at which the consumer willbe billed for the ordered product via an Internet connection establishedwith the billing server prior to the establishing of the premiumtelephone communication link with the billing server.

14. A method and an apparatus capable of performing actions generallyconsistent with the plug-in component, billing server component andmerchant component described above represent further aspects of thepresent invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

15. The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomesbetter understood by reference to the following detailed description,when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

16.FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a block diagram of a representative portion ofthe Internet;

17.FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram of a local area network (LAN) connectedto the Internet which supplies goods, services and content ordered by aconsumer using a computer located elsewhere on the Internet inaccordance with the present invention;

18.FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the several components of the consumer'scomputer shown in FIG. 2 that is used to order goods, services andcontent from the Internet in accordance with the present invention;

19.FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the several components of a billingserver shown in FIG. 2 that is used to supply the ordered good, serviceand/or location of the content and confirm the order in accordance withthe present invention;

20.FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the several components of a merchantserver shown in FIG. 2 that provides the ordered goods, services orcontent in accordance with the present invention;

21.FIGS. 6A and 6B are windows produced by a Web browser installed onthe consumer's computer from which the consumer orders a good and/orservice;

22.FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by the consumer'scomputer to initiate an order of a good and/or service from theInternet;

23. FIGS. 8A-8C are a flow chart illustrating the logic used by theconsumer's computer to complete the order of a good and/or service overthe Internet;

24. FIGS. 9A-9F are various windows produced by the consumer's computerfor displaying messages associated with the order of a good and/orservice;

25.FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by the billingserver connected to the LAN shown in FIG. 2 to supply the ordered goodand/or service to the consumer's computer;

26.FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by the billingserver connected to the LAN shown in FIG. 2 to confirm the order of thegood and/or service;

27.FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating the actions taken by a telephoneservice provider to automatically bill the consumer for the ordered goodand/or service;

28.FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken in parallel bythe consumer's computer and the billing server to order and supply thegood and/or service;

29.FIG. 14 illustrates a window produced by a Web browser installed onthe consumer's computer from which the consumer orders premium contentin accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention;

30. FIGS. 15A-15C are a flow chart illustrating the logic used by theconsumer's computer to order premium content over the Internet;

31. FIGS. 16A-16D are various windows produced by the consumer'scomputer for displaying messages associated with the order of premiumcontent;

32.FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by the consumer'scomputer to order previously bookmarked premium content;

33.FIG. 18 is a window produced by the consumer's computer fordisplaying a message associated with the order of previously bookmarkedpremium content;

34.FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by the billingserver connected to the LAN shown in FIG. 13 to initially process theorder for premium content made by the consumer's computer;

35. FIGS. 20A-20B are a flow chart and access to illustrating the logicused by the billing server to obtain and provide access information forthe premium content to the consumer's computer;

36.FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating the logic used by a merchantserver to provide the billing server with the access information for thepremium content; and

37. FIGS. 22A-22B are a diagram illustrating the actions taken inparallel by the consumer's computer, the billing server and the merchantserver to order and provide premium content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

38. As previously described and shown in FIG. 1, the Internet 20 is acollection of local area networks and (LANs) 24, wide area networks(WANs) 26, remote computers 28 and routers 22 that use the TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with eachother. The World Wide Web (WWW), on the other hand, is vast collectionof interconnected, electronically stored information located on serversconnected throughout the Internet 20. Many companies are now sellinggoods, services and access to their premium content over the Internetusing the WWW. In accordance with the present invention, a consumerorders goods, services and/or content (referred to interchangeablyherein as “products”) over the Internet 20 via a Web browser and isautomatically billed for the purchase on his or her monthly telephonebill. More specifically, the consumer places an order for goods,services, or premium content from a computer 42 connected to theInternet 20. The order is processed and confirmed by a billing server 34connected to a LAN 24 located elsewhere in the Internet 20, whichobtains the product from a merchant server 39, i.e., a server owned bythe merchant which sponsors or sells the product, also located elsewherein the Internet 20.

39. The LAN 24 to which the billing server 34 is connected and to whichthe consumer's computer 42 has established an Internet connection forordering a product is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. In addition to thebilling server 34, the LAN 24 includes an administrative computer 32used to administer product, vendor, and purchaser information andservices provided by the billing server 34. The LAN 24 also includes anaccess server 38 equipped with a plurality of high-speed digital modemsused to accept temporary telephone links from other computers located inthe Internet 20, such as the consumer's computer 42. Finally, LAN 24includes a personal computer 36 installed with a computer supportedtelephone application (CSTA), which is a standard protocol used in NorthAmerica to interface the computer 36 with a telephone switch 40.However, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that inother embodiments of the present invention, the access server 38 isitself equipped with computer telephony/caller identification softwarethat is appropriate for the particular telephone system in which thetelephone switch 40 is operative. Consequently, it will be appreciatedthat in these embodiments, the CSTA monitor 36 is unnecessary.

40. As will be described in more detail below, after the consumer placesan order using the computer 42 via the Internet 20, the consumer'scomputer disconnects from the Internet 20 and establishes apoint-to-point (PPP) connection with the billing server 34 to confirmthe purchase. More specifically, the consumer's computer places atelephone call to a premium telephone number assigned to the telephoneswitch 40. The telephone switch routes the premium telephone call to theaccess server 38, whose modems answer the telephone call and notify thebilling server 34 that a TCP/IP connection to the consumer's computer 42has been established. Meanwhile, the CSTA monitor 36 which monitors thetelephone switch 40 also notifies the billing server 34 that thetelephone call has been made, thus completing the PPP connection betweenthe billing server 34 and the consumer's computer 42. In thoseembodiments of the present invention which do not include a CSTA monitor36, it will be appreciated that the computer telephone software residenton the access server 38 provides this function.

41. In the actual embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2,the LAN 24 is insulated from the Internet 20 by a firewall server 30which tracks and controls the flow of all data passing through it usingthe TCP/IP protocol. The firewall 30 protects the. LAN 24 from maliciousin-bound data traffic. The LAN 24 is a bus network interconnecting thevarious computers and servers. The LAN 24 shown in FIG. 2 can be formedof various coupling media such as glass or plastic fiberoptic cables,coaxial cables, twisted wire pair cables, ribbon cables, etc. Inaddition, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thecoupling medium can also include a radio frequency coupling media orother intangible coupling media. Any computer system or number ofcomputer systems, including but not limited to workstations, personalcomputers, laptop computers, servers, remote computers, etc., that isequipped with the necessary interface hardware may be connectedtemporarily or permanently to the LAN 24, and thus, the Internet 20.However, if temporarily connected via a telephone link to another deviceconnected to the LAN 24, the interface hardware of both the remotecomputer 28 and the device to which it is connected must contain amodem. Finally, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize thatwhile only one consumer computer 42, one billing server 34 and onemerchant server 39 are depicted in FIG. 2, numerous consumer computers,billing servers and merchant servers equipped with the hardware andsoftware components described below may be connected to the Internet 20.

Relevant Consumer Computer, Billing Server and Merchant ServerComponents

42.FIG. 3 depicts several of the key components of the consumer'scomputer 42. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theconsumer's computer 42 includes many more components then those shown inFIG. 3. However, it is not necessary that all of these generallyconventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrativeembodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, theconsumer's computer includes a network interface 44 for connecting to aLAN 24 or WAN 26, or for connecting remotely to a LAN or WAN. Those ofordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the network interface 44includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, and is alsoconstructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particular networkconfiguration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and a particulartype of coupling medium.

43. The consumer's computer 42 also includes a processing unit 46, adisplay 48, a modem 49 and a memory 50. The memory 50 generallycomprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM) and apermanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive. The memory 50stores the program code and data necessary for ordering a product overthe Internet 20 in accordance with the present invention. Morespecifically, the memory 50 stores a plug-in component 52, 52′ and/or52″ formed in accordance with the present invention for orderingproducts. It will be appreciated that this component may be stored on acomputer-readable medium and loaded into memory 50 of the consumercomputer 42 using a drive mechanism associated with thecomputer-readable medium, such as a floppy or CD-ROM drive. The memory50 also includes a Web browser 51, such as Netscape's Navigator orMicrosoft's Internet Explorer browsers.

44. As will be described in more detail below, the products ordered bythe consumer are supplied by a remote server, i.e., the billing server34 located elsewhere on the Internet, e.g., in LAN 24 illustrated inFIG. 2. FIG. 4 depicts several of the key components of the billingserver 34. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thebilling server 34 includes many more components then those shown in FIG.4. However, it is not necessary that all of these generally,conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrativeembodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, thebilling server 34 is connected to the LAN 24 via a network interface 54.Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the networkinterface 54 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting the billingserver 34 to the LAN 24 and the firewall 30, and is constructed for usewith the TCP/IP protocol, the bus network configuration of the LAN 24,and the particular type of coupling medium.

45. The billing server 34 also includes a processing unit 56, a display58, and a mass memory 60. The mass memory 60 generally comprises arandom access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent massstorage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive,floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. The mass memory 60 stores theprogram code and data necessary for supplying products to consumers inaccordance with the present invention. More specifically, the massmemory 60 stores a billing server component 62 and/or 62′ formed inaccordance with the present invention for supplying the ordered productsand confirming the order of products. In addition, mass memory 60 storesa database 64 of product information continuously logged by the billingserver 34 regarding vendors, consumers and products. It will beappreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the database 64of product and logged information may also be stored on other servers orstorage devices connected to the LAN 24. It will be appreciated that thebilling server component 62, 62′ and database 64 of product informationmay be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into mass memory60 of the billing server 34 using a drive mechanism associated with thecomputer-readable medium, such as floppy or CD-ROM drive. Finally, massmemory 60 stores Web server software 66 for handling requests for storedinformation received via the Internet 20 and the WWW.

46. As will also be described in more detail below, the products orderedby the consumer, and supplied by the billing server 34 may, in turn, beprovided to the billing server by a merchant server 39 located elsewhereon the Internet 20. FIG. 5 depicts several of the key components of themerchant server 39. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat the merchant server 39 includes many more components than thoseshown in FIG. 5. However, it is not necessary that all of thesegenerally conventional components be shown in order to disclose anillustrative embodiment of practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 5, the merchant server 39 includes a network interface 55 forconnecting to a LAN 24 or WAN 26, or for connecting remotely to a LAN orWAN. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the networkinterface 55 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, andis also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particularnetwork configuration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and aparticular type of coupling medium.

47. The merchant server 39 also includes a processing unit 57, a display59, and a mass memory 61. The mass memory 61 generally comprises arandom access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent massstorage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive,floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. In one actual embodiment ofthe present invention, the mass memory contains a product database 67which includes the electronically stored good or service ordered by theconsumer. In other embodiments of the present invention, the productdatabase 67 stores the premium content ordered by the consumer, i.e.,the hypertext documents or other electronically stored informationconsidered of monetary value by the merchant. In such embodiments, themass memory 61 also stores the program code and data necessary forsupplying the billing server with the URL for the premium content, aswell as other access information for the premium content. Morespecifically, the mass memory 61 stores a merchant session gatewaycomponent 65 formed in accordance with the present invention forproviding the billing server 34 with the access information that will benecessary for the computer 42 to access the desired premium content. Itwill be appreciated that the merchant session gateway component 65 andproduct database 67 may be stored on a computer-readable medium andloaded into mass memory 61 of the merchant server 39 using a drivemechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as a floppyor CD-ROM drive. Finally, mass memory 61 stores Web server software 66for handling requests for stored information, including the premiumcontent, received via the Internet and the WWW.

Ordering Goods and Services

48. Consumer computers, such as computer 42, are normally provided witha Web browser 51 such as Netscape's Navigator to provide the consumerswith a graphical user interface to the Internet and the WWW. FIG. 6Aillustrates the consumer's computer 42 that implements such a Webbrowser 51. The consumer's computer comprises a display or monitor 72, akeyboard 74, a mouse 76, and a main unit 78 that includes the componentsdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 3. Monitor 72 includes a screen73 on which elements of the Web browser 51 are displayed. Such elementsinclude a main window 80 for displaying hypertext documents requested bythe consumer and a graphics cursor 82.

49. In accordance with a first embodiment for practicing the presentinvention, a consumer may visit a merchant's Web site using the Webbrowser 51 and retrieve a hypertext document from which the consumer mayorder goods and services. For example, a consumer using computer 42 andWeb browser 51 may retrieve the hypertext document shown in the mainwindow 80 of FIG. 6A from a book store Web site known hypothetically as“Albert's Book Emporium.” The consumer makes a selection of a particularbook by manipulating the graphics cursor 82 with the mouse 76 above theselection and “single-clicking.” In response, an ordering window 70 isdisplayed on the screen 73 of the client's computer 42 as shown in FIG.6B. The ordering window 70 displays to the consumer yet anotherhypertext document which includes various payment options, i.e., majorcredit cards with electronic transmission of credit information orfacsimile transmission of credit information. However, in accordancewith the present invention, an automatic billing icon 68 is alsodisplayed as a payment option. As will be described in more detailbelow, if the consumer selects the automatic billing icon 68, theconsumer will automatically be billed a one-time or “drop” charge forthe ordered product on his or her next monthly telephone bill.

50.FIG. 7 illustrates the logic implemented by the Web browser 51installed on the client's computer 42 when the automatic billing icon 68is selected. The logic begins in a block 100 and proceeds to a block 102where the Web browser 51 determines if the plug-in component 52 of thefirst embodiment of the present invention has been installed on theclient's computer 42. If not, the client's computer downloads theplug-in 52 from the billing server 34 via the Internet 20 and installsthe plug-in 52 in memory 50 in a block 104. If the plug-in 52 is alreadyinstalled on the client's computer 42 or if it was not installed, butthen loaded, the logic proceeds to a block 106 where the plug-incomponent 52 is initialized by the client's computer 42. The logic thenends in a block 108. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciatethat the plug-in 52 of the present invention is downloaded, installedand initialized on the client's computer using methods well-known in thecomputer network arts.

51. Once the plug-in 52 is initialized, the plug-in 52 of the firstembodiment of the present invention performs the logic depicted in FIGS.8A-8C to place the consumer's order with the billing server 34. Thelogic begins in FIG. 8A in a block 120 and proceeds to a block 122 inwhich the client's computer 42 establishes an Internet connection to thebilling server 34 using well-known methods in the art. Next, in a block124, the plug-in 52 displays a purchase confirmation window 84 as shownin FIG. 9A on the screen 73 of the client's computer 42. Theconfirmation window 84 confirms the consumer's purchase and provides theconsumer with the opportunity to cancel the purchase. If the consumerenters “OK” the logic will continue to a block 126 where the plug-intransfers to the billing server 34 via the Internet 20 a product I.D.uniquely identifying the product ordered to the billing server 34 and apurchaser I.D. assigned to the consumer. As will be described in moredetail below, the consumer is assigned a purchaser I.D. the first timeit places an order with the billing server 34. Hence, if this is thefirst time that the consumer has placed an order, the consumer will nothave been assigned a purchaser I.D. and no such I.D. will be transferredin block 126.

52. After transferring the purchaser I.D. and product I.D. to thebilling server 34, the plug-in 52 waits for the billing server 34 totransfer to the consumer's computer 42 a transaction I.D. whichidentifies the consumer, the product ordered by the consumer (by productI.D.), and the billing server 34 supplying the order (as noted above,there may be more than one billing server located elsewhere on theInternet 20). As will be described in more detail below, the transactionI.D. will be used later to verify the consumer's order. If thetransaction I.D. has not yet been received by the consumer's computer42, the plug-in 52 merely repeats decision block 128 (i.e., essentiallywaits) until the transaction I.D. is received from the billing server34. Once received, the plug-in 52 displays a directory prompt window 86as shown in FIG. 9B which prompts the consumer for a network or localdirectory on the consumer's computer 42 in which to store the productthat the consumer has purchased. After entering the directory in whichthe consumer wishes to save the product that it has purchased, the logicproceeds to a block 132 where the consumer's computer 42 beginsreceiving an encrypted version of the product transferred by the billingserver 34. However, as will be discussed in more detail below, theconsumer is not allowed to decrypt the product until the consumer hasactually been billed for the product. In this regard, the billing server34 also transfers, and the consumer's computer 42 also receives, apremium telephone number that the consumer's computer 42 uses toestablish a PPP connection to the billing server 34 and obtain an accesskey for decrypting the product.

53. While the encrypted product is being downloaded via the Internet 20,the plug-in 52 displays a download transaction status window 88 as shownin FIG. 9C on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42 whichindicates the changing status of the download to the consumer. Next, ina decision block 136, the plug-in 52 determines if the entire encryptedproduct has finally been received. If not, the logic repeats blocks 134and 136 until the encrypted product has been completely downloaded tothe consumer's computer 42.

54. Once downloading of the encrypted product is complete, the plug-in52 displays in a block 137, an authorization transaction window 89 asshown in FIG. 9D. Once the consumer depresses the OK button indicatingauthorization of the order, the plug-in 52 disconnects the consumer'scomputer 42 from the Internet 20 in a block 138 in FIG. 9B. Next, in ablock 140, the plug-in 52 supplies the premium telephone number providedby the billing server 34 to the modem 49 of the computer 42 and themodem dials the number in order to establish a PPP connection to thebilling server 34. In the actual embodiment of the present inventiondescribed herein, the premium telephone number provided by the billingserver 34 and dialed by the modem 49 of the consumer's computer 42 is a“900 number,” i.e., a ten digit number having with a 900 area code,assigned by the billing server's telephone service provider. As those ofordinary skill in the telephone switching arts will appreciate, the 900area code has been generally reserved for commercial purposes, whereinthe consumer is generally charged a flat rate, or a particular rate perminute for a telephone call, and a portion of that charge is paid by thetelephone service provider to the vendor or merchant to whom the 900number is assigned. It will be recognized, however, that other types oftelephone numbers may be used and, in fact, mandated by the telephoneservice provider without departing from the scope of the presentinvention.

55. The telephone call placed by the modem 49 is answered by thetelephone switch 40 connected to the CSTA monitor 36 of the LAN 24. Thetelephone switch 40 routes the telephone call to the access server 38,which notifies the billing server 34. Accordingly, the consumer'scomputer 42 establishes a PPP connection via the telephone switch 40 andaccess server 38 with the billing server 34. While this connection isbeing established, the plug-in 52 displays an authorization window 90 asshown in FIG. 9E on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42 whichindicates the changing status of the connection to the billing server 34in a block 142.

56. Once the PPP connection between the consumer's computer 42 and thebilling server 34 is fully established, the plug-in 52 transfers thepreviously assigned transaction I.D. to the billing server 34 so thatthe billing server 34 may verify the order in a block 144. It will berecognized that many consumers may be placing orders simultaneously, andhence, many computers located elsewhere on the Internet 20 may beestablishing PPP connections with the billing server 34 at any giventime. Therefore, the transaction I.D. is necessary so that the billingserver 34 may identify the consumer and the order placed by theconsumer, and supply the plug-in 52 installed on the consumer's computer42 with the appropriate access key for decrypting the previously sentproduct. In other words, the transaction I.D. serves a type of claimticket used by the consumer to claim the correct access key once billingis complete.

57. Next, in a block 146, the plug-in 52 begins downloading theappropriate access key for the decrypting the product. As will bedescribed in more detail below, as long as the billing server 34receives the transaction I.D. from the plug-in 52 within a certain timeperiod (i.e., the free period at the beginning of a 900 telephone callduring which the caller can hang-up without being charged), the billingserver 34 will transfer the appropriate access key for decrypting theencrypted product. Otherwise, the PPP connection between the consumer'scomputer 42 and the billing server 34 is terminated and the consumer isnot billed for the telephone call or the product.

58. While waiting for the access key, the plug-in 52 displays anotherauthorization window 90 in a block 148 which notifies the consumer ofthe status of the download of the access key. In a decision block 150,the logic determines if the consumer's computer 42 has finally receivedthe access key. If not, blocks 148 and 150 are merely repeated until theaccess key is received. Once received, the plug-in 52 ends the telephonecall, and hence, terminates its PPP connection with the billing server34 in a block 152.

59. After terminating the PPP connection with the billing server 34, theplug-in 52 begins decryption of the encrypted product using the accesskey in a block 154. In a block 156, the plug-in 52 displays anotherauthorization window 90 notifying the consumer that decryption of theproduct is in progress in a block 156. Accordingly, in a decision block158 the plug-in determines if the product has been fully decrypted. Ifnot, blocks 156 and 158 are merely repeated until the product has beenfully decrypted. Once fully decrypted, the logic proceeds to a block 160shown in FIG. 8C where the plug-in 52 deletes the encrypted product frommemory 50 of the client's computer in an effort to save space. Next, ina block 162, the plug-in 52 depicts a transaction completed window 91 onthe screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42 as shown in FIG. 9F. Theconsumer is then provided the option in the transaction completed window91 to reconnect to the Internet via its normal Internet serviceprovider. The logic for the plug-in 52 then ends in a block 164.

60. Now that the logic implemented by the plug-in component 52 has beendiscussed, it is necessary to describe the billing server component 62implemented by the billing server 34 in a first embodiment of thepresent invention to supply the encrypted product and access key to theconsumer's computer 42. As shown in FIG. 10, the logic implemented bythe billing server component 62 to supply the encrypted product beginsin a block 170 and proceeds to a decision block 172 where it determineswhether the connection between the consumer's computer 42 and thebilling server 34 has been established via the Internet 20. If not,decision block 172 is merely repeated until such a connection has beenestablished. Next, in a decision block 173, the billing server componentdetermines if the product I.D. has been received from the consumer'scomputer 42. If not, decision block 173 is repeated until the productI.D. has been received.

61. Once the product I.D. has been received, the billing servercomponent 62 determines if the consumer is new in a decision block 174,i.e., if this is the first time this consumer has placed an order. Ifthis is the first time the consumer has placed an order, then theplug-in 52 will be unable to provide the billing server 34 with apurchaser I.D. for the consumer. Accordingly, the billing servercomponent 62 assigns the consumer a purchaser I.D. in a block 176 andtransfers the purchaser I.D. to the consumer's computer 42 in a block178. As noted above, the plug-in 52 will return this purchaser I.D. eachsubsequent time the consumer places an order. The purchaser I.D. islogged in the product and information database 64 of the billing serverand is used for accounting and recordkeeping purposes, such as paymenthistories, customer demographics, etc.

62. If the consumer is not a first-time buyer or, is a first-time buyerand thus, has been assigned a purchaser I.D., the logic proceeds to adecision block 180 where the billing server component 62 determineswhether an order by this particular consumer should be denied. Morespecifically, the billing server 34 determines whether the purchaserI.D. is blocked. It will be appreciated that over the course of time,certain consumers may fail to pay their telephone bills, which includethe charges for the orders placed using the present invention. A log ofsuch purchaser I.D.s will be maintained in the database of product andlogged information 64 in mass memory 60 of the billing server 34. If thepurchaser I.D. of the consumer placing the order matches one of thelogged purchaser I.D.s, the consumer will be prevented from placing itsorder and notified appropriately in a block 182. Such notification mayinclude a message displayed on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer42 followed by termination of the PPP connection between the billingserver 34 and the consumer's computer 42 in a block 183. The logic thenends in a block 184. On the other hand, if the consumer is not blockedby purchaser I.D. in decision block 180, the logic proceeds to a block186 where the billing server 34 assigns a transaction I.D. to the orderand transfers the transaction I.D. to the consumer's computer 42. Thetransaction I.D. identifies the consumer, the product ordered (byproduct I.D.) and the billing server 34. As noted above, the plug-in 52installed on the consumer's computer 42 waits for this transaction I.D.before prompting the consumer for a directory in which to store theproduct it has ordered.

63. After transferring the transaction I.D. to the consumer's computer42, the billing server component 62 locates the product ordered by theconsumer and encrypts it in a block 188. It will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that the product may be stored in thedatabase 64 of product information located in mass memory 60 of thebilling server 34 or it may be located on a merchant server 39 locatedelsewhere in the Internet. If the product is located elsewhere, thebilling server 34 will establish an Internet connection with thecorresponding merchant server 39 and download the ordered product. Itwill also be appreciated that the product, whether located in massmemory 60 of the billing server 34 or elsewhere on the Internet 20, maybe pre-encrypted. Therefore, it may not be necessary for the billingserver component 62 to encrypt the product itself.

64. Next, in a block 190, the billing server component 62 stores theencrypted product in a working directory in mass memory 60 of thebilling server 34 as a precursor to transferring it to the client'scomputer 42. In a block 192, the billing server component 62 selects anaccess key, i.e., password, for decrypting the encrypted product storedin the working directory. It will be appreciated that the billing servercomponent 62 may select the access key from a predefined list stored inthe database 64 of product and logged information, or the billing servercomponent 62 may generate an access key at random or using various otherselection algorithms. Once the access key has been selected by thebilling server component 62, the billing server 34 transfers theencrypted product to the consumer's computer 42 as well as the telephonenumber that the plug-in 52 will use to establish a PPP connection withthe billing server 34 so that billing can be performed and the accesskey may be provided to the plug-in 52. The logic then ends in a block196.

65. The logic employed in the first embodiment of the present inventionby the billing server component 62 to confirm completion of billing fora placed order, and thus, supply the plug-in 52 with the access key isdepicted in FIG. 11. The logic begins in FIG. 11 in a block 200 andproceeds to a decision block 202 where the billing server component 62determines if a PPP connection has been established to the billingserver 34 by any consumer computer 42 installed with a plug-in 52. Asnoted above, many consumers may be placing orders at any given time, andhence, many computers may be attempting to establish a PPP connection tothe billing server 34 so that they may obtain the appropriate access keyfor decrypting their ordered product. Hence, decision block 202 isrepeated until such a connection has been established.

66. Once a PPP connection has been established, the logic proceeds to adecision block 204 where the billing server component 62 determineswhether or not the order placed by the consumer should be denied bydetermining whether the purchaser I.D. assigned to the consumer andtransferred to the billing server 34 by the plug-in 52 is blocked. Ifso, the consumer is appropriately notified, e.g., by a message displayedon the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42, in a block 206.Accordingly, the billing server component 62 ends the premium telephonecall and terminates the PPP connection with the consumer's computer 42.It will be appreciated from the discussion below, if the premiumtelephone call is ended at this time, i.e., before the expiration of thefree period, the consumer will not be billed for the order placed. Thelogic then ends in a block 210.

67. If the order is not denied based on purchaser I.D., the logicproceeds to a decision block 212 where it determines if the order shouldbe denied based on the consumer's telephone number (i.e., the telephonenumber from which the modem 49 of the consumer's computer is making thepremium telephone call to the billing server 34) in a decision block212. In one actual embodiment of the present invention, a list oftelephone numbers is maintained by the CSTA monitor 36 of all consumerswho have not paid their monthly telephone bills for ordered products orwho have indicated that all purchases attempted from their telephonenumber should be denied. If the order is to be denied based on theconsumer's telephone number, the CSTA monitor 36 automatically providesa busy signal to the modem 49 of the consumer's computer 42 in a block206. Next, in a block 208, the telephone call made by the modem 49 ofthe consumer's computer, and hence the PPP connection to the billingserver 34 is terminated. The logic then ends in a block 210.

68. Returning to decision block 212, if the order is permitted, thelogic proceeds to a decision block 214 in which the billing servercomponent 62 determines if it has received the transaction I.D. from theplug-in 52. If not, the logic proceeds to another decision block 216 inwhich the billing server component 62 determines if the free period hasalmost expired. As noted above and described in more detail below, thisfree period is the time interval at the beginning of a 900 telephonecall during which the consumer can hang up and not be charged for thetelephone service by the telephone service provider. By default, thefree period is normally 18.9 seconds. However, the free period isdictated by the telephone service provider, and hence, may varyaccordingly. During the free period, the plug-in 52 may display amessage, which informs the consumer that they may hang up and not becharged for the telephone call or the product. If the transaction I.D.is not received from the plug-in 52 during the free period, the billingserver component 62 will automatically terminate the premium telephonecall in a block 208, so that the consumer is not erroneously charged forthe premium telephone call. Consequently, the logic ends in a block 210.

69. If the transaction I.D. is received, with time to spare, the logicproceeds from decision block 214 to a decision block 217 where thebilling server component 62 determines if the free period has expired.In other words, once the billing server 34 has received the transactionI.D. from the plug-in 52, the billing server component 62 merely waitsfor the free period to expire. Once expired, the telephone serviceprovider bills the consumer for the ordered product as will be discussedin more detail below and the billing server component 62 transfers theaccess key assigned to the order identified by the transaction I.D. tothe consumer's computer 42 so that the plug-in 52 can decrypt theproduct previously provided by the billing server component 62. Thelogic then ends in a block 219.

70. Now that the plug-in and billing server components of the presentinvention have been described, the actions provided by the telephoneservice provider in order to automatically bill the consumer for theordered product are discussed in more detail in connection with FIG. 12.The flow diagram begins in a block 220 and proceeds to a block 222 wherethe telephone service provider routes the premium telephone call made bythe modem 49 of the consumer's computer 42 to the telephone switch 40connected to the CSTA monitor 36 of the LAN 24. Once the telephoneswitch 40 answers the call, the telephone service provider waits for thefree period described above to expire in a block 224 before it bills theconsumer for the order in a block 226. In the meantime, either theconsumer's computer 42 or the billing server 34 may terminate thetelephone call and prevent billing for the order. Once the free periodhas expired, however, the telephone service provider bills the consumerfor the ordered product as a unit charge or “drop charge” using its owninternal accounting and billing procedures. Consequently, the charge forthe product and the premium telephone call will appear on the consumer'snext monthly telephone bill for the telephone number from which themodem 49 of the consumer's computer 42 made the telephone call to thebilling server 34. In a block 228, the telephone service providercollects payment for the premium telephone call and the ordered productfrom the consumer via its normal collection processes. Once thetelephone service provider has collected payment for the call, thetelephone service provider pays a service charge to the provider of thebilling server 34 in a block 230. This service charge can be a flat rateor can be a percentage of each order placed.

71.FIG. 13 is an overall diagram depicting the actions of the plug-in52/consumer's computer 42 and the billing server component 62/billingserver 34 in parallel. Consequently, FIG. 13 depicts the consumer'scomputer 42 establishing an Internet connection to the billing server34. The consumer's computer 42 then transfers the product I.D. of theordered product to the billing server 34. In response, the billingserver 34 transfers a transaction I.D. for the order to the consumer'scomputer 42. The billing server 34 also transfers the encrypted productand a telephone number for establishing a PPP connection to the billingserver 34 to the consumer's computer 42. Once the consumer's computer 42has received the transaction I.D. and the encrypted product, theconsumer's computer 42 disconnects from the Internet 20 and dials thetelephone number transferred by the billing server 34 in order to obtainthe access key for decrypting the product. Once the PPP connection withthe billing server 34 is established, the consumer's computer 42transfers the transaction I.D. back to the billing server 34 so that thebilling server component 64 may identify the order and match thetransaction I.D. to the access key assigned to that transaction.Accordingly, the billing server transfers the appropriate access key tothe consumer's computer so that the plug-in 52 may decrypt the product.It is readily apparent from FIG. 13 that the plug-in 52 is only able todecrypt the ordered product and thus, the consumer is only able to usethe product, once the access key has been provided, which necessarilyrequires that the consumer's computer make a premium telephone call thatis billed by the telephone service provider to the consumer's telephoneservice account.

Ordering Premium Content

72. In a second embodiment of the present invention, a consumer mayorder premium content provided by a merchant over the Internet 20 and beautomatically billed for the amount of time the consumer spendsaccessing the content, rather than billed a unit rate or drop-charge forthe premium content.

73. As shown in FIG. 14, a consumer may use a computer 42 installed witha Web browser 51 to visit a merchant's Web site and retrieve a hypertextdocument which may contain or be linked to content considered to have amonetary value to the merchant. For example, a consumer using computer42 and Web browser 51 may retrieve the hypertext document shown in amain window 70 of FIG. 14 from a merchant server 39. The consumer mayorder the premium content stored at that merchant's Web site, i.e., atmerchant server 39, by selecting the automatic billing icon 68. As willbe described in more detail below, if the consumer selects the automaticbilling icon 68, the consumer will be billed automatically by itstelephone service provider on his or her next monthly telephone bill forthe time spent on a premium telephone line accessing the premium contentretrieved from the merchant server 39.

74. The logic implemented by the Web browser 51 installed on theclient's computer 42 when the automatic billing icon 68 is selected isthe same in the second embodiment of the present invention as the first,which was described above in connection with FIG. 6. Briefly, inresponse to selection of the automatic billing icon 68, the Web browser51 downloads a plug-in component 52′ from the billing server 34 via theInternet 20 and installs the plug-in component 52′ in memory 50 of theconsumer's computer 42, if the plug-in component 52′ has not alreadybeen installed on the consumer's computer 42. It will be appreciated,however, that the logic implemented by the plug-in component 52′ in thesecond embodiment of the present invention is slightly different thanthat described above in connection with the first embodiment. Hence, thereference number (52) for the plug-in component in the second embodimentis denoted with a prime ″″′.

75. Once the plug-in 52′ is initialized, the plug-in 52′ performs thelogic depicted in FIGS. 15A-15C to place the consumer's order forpremium content information with the billing server 34 using methodswell-known in the art. The logic begins in FIG. 15A in a block 240 andproceeds to a block 242 in which the consumer's computer 42 establishesan Internet connection to the billing server 34. Next, in a block 244,the plug-in 52′ displays a premium content access window 280 as shown inFIG. 16A on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42. The premiumcontent access window 280 confirms the consumer's order for premiumcontent and provides the consumer with the opportunity to cancel therequest. If the consumer enters “OK,” the logic in FIG. 15A will proceedto a block 246 where the plug-in 52′ transfers to the billing server 34a product I.D. uniquely identifying the premium content desired by theconsumer and a purchaser I.D. assigned to the consumer. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the consumer is assigned a purchaserI.D. the first time it places an order with the billing server 34.Hence, if this is the first time that the consumer has placed an order,the consumer will not have been assigned a purchaser I.D. and no suchI.D. will be transferred in block 246. However, in yet other embodimentsof the present invention, the consumer may be assigned the purchaserI.D. when the plug-in 52′ is downloaded, thus eliminating the need forthe billing server 34 to supply it later. In addition to the productI.D. and the purchaser I.D., the plug-in transfers to the billing server34 a merchant I.D. uniquely identifying the merchant providing thepremium content and the advertised rate at which the consumer will bebilled for accessing the content. It will be appreciated that themerchant I.D. and advertised rate are obtained directly from themerchant Web site used by the consumer to order the premium content.

76. After transferring the purchaser I.D., product I.D., merchant I.D.,and advertised rate to the billing server 34, the plug-in 52′ waits forthe billing server 34 to transfer to the consumer's computer 42 atransaction I.D. which identifies the consumer, the premium contentordered by the consumer (by product I.D.), and the billing server 34processing the order (as noted above, there may be more than one billingserver located elsewhere on the Internet 20). The consumer's computer 42also waits for the billing server 34 to transfer a premium accesstelephone number and the actual premium access rate at which theconsumer will be billed (since it may differ from the advertised rate).It will be appreciated that the premium access telephone number is thepremium rate telephone number that the consumer's computer uses toestablish a point-to-point (PPP) connection to the billing server 34 andthe number by which the consumer is billed per minute (or other timeinterval) for accessing the premium content. As will be described inmore detail below, once the PPP connection is established, the consumeris allowed to download the desired premium content from the merchantserver 39 and billing at the actual premium rate begins.

77. Once the transaction I.D., premium telephone number and actualpremium rate are received by the plug-in 52′, the plug-in 52′ displaysthe premium content access window 280 as completed with the premiumtelephone number and actual premium rate received from the billingserver 34 in a premium telephone number field 282 and a rate field 284,respectively, as shown in FIG. 16B. Once the consumer depresses the OKbutton indicating his or her desire to continue with the order forpremium content, the plug-in 52′ disconnects the consumer's computer 42from the Internet 20 in a block 252 in FIG. 15B. Next, in a block 254,the plug-in 52′ supplies the premium telephone number provided by thebilling server 34 to the modem 49 of the computer 42 and the modem dialsthe number in order to establish the PPP connection to the billingserver 34. As described above, the premium telephone number provided bythe billing server 34 and dialed by the modem 49 of the consumer'scomputer 42 in the present invention is a “900 number,” i.e., aten-digit number with a 900 area code, assigned by the billing server'stelephone service provider. As those of ordinary skill in the telephoneswitching arts will appreciate, the 900 area code has been generallyreserved for commercial purposes, wherein the consumer is generallycharged a flat rate, or a particular rate per minute for a telephonecall, and a portion of that charge is paid by the telephone serviceprovider to the merchant to whom the 900 number is assigned. It will berecognized, however, that other types of telephone numbers may be usedand, in fact, mandated by the telephone service provider withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

78. Returning to block 254, the CSTA monitor 36 is not necessary in thepresent embodiment of the invention to establish a PPP connection to thebilling server 34. Instead, the premium telephone call placed by themodem 49 of the consumer's computer 42 is answered by the telephoneswitch 40 connected to the access server 38, which notifies the billingserver 34 directly of the incoming call. Accordingly, the consumer'scomputer establishes a PPP connection with the billing server 34 via thetelephone switch 40 and access server 38. It will be appreciated thatonce the PPP connection is established and the free period normallyassociated with the premium telephone number expires, billing begins bythe telephone service provider using its own internal accounting andbilling procedures. Accordingly, the plug-in 52′ starts a premium accesstimer in block 256 for keeping track of the amount of time the consumerspends accessing the premium content and displays a timer window 290, asshown in FIG. 16C on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42 whichincludes the amount of time spent by the consumer accessing the premiumcontent, the premium rate at which the consumer is billed for viewing oraccessing the premium content, and the total cost to the consumercalculated therefrom for accessing the premium content. Next, in a block258, the plug-in 52′ places the order for the premium content withbilling server by transferring the previously assigned transaction I.D.to the billing server 34. It will be recognized that many consumers maybe ordering premium content simultaneously, and hence, many computerslocated elsewhere on the Internet 20 may be establishing PPP connectionsto the billing server 34 at any given time. Therefore, the transactionI.D. is necessary so that the billing server 34 may identify consumerand the order placed by the consumer, and supply the plug-in 52′installed on the consumer's computer 42 with the appropriate informationfor obtaining access to the premium content.

79. After the transaction I.D. has been transferred to the billingserver 34, the logic proceeds to a decision block 260 in which itdetermines if the consumer's computer 42 has received in return anaccess I.D., password and URL from the billing server 34. As will bedescribed in more detail below, when the billing server 34 receives anorder for premium content from the consumer's computer 42, it forwardsthe order to the merchant server 39 of the merchant providing thepremium content ordered. In response, the merchant server 39 suppliesthe billing server 34 with: (a) the URL for the premium content ordered;(b) a password allowing the consumer's computer to claim the orderedpremium content and enter the merchant's premium Web site; and (c) anaccess I.D. that provides the consumer's computer 42 with access to anInternet Protocol (IP) session with the merchant server 39. If thisinformation has not yet been received from the billing server 34, thedecision block 260 is merely repeated, i.e., the plug-in 52′ merelywaits, until the information is received. Once received, the plug-in 52′launches the Web browser 51 with the URL for the premium content alreadyloaded in a block 262 and the consumer's computer establishes anInternet connection to the merchant server 39 identified by the loadedURL. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art thatthe Internet connection between the consumer's computer 42 and merchantserver 39 is established via the billing server 34 and the access server38 to which the billing server is connected. In other words, the LAN 24serves as the consumer computer's gateway to the Internet 20. Once thisconnection is established, the consumer's computer 42 transfers to themerchant server 39 in a block 263 the password and access I.D. it haspreviously been given so that the merchant server 39 may allow theconsumer's computer 42 access to the IP session the merchant server hasdesignated for it. The consumer's computer 42 downloads the premiumcontent located at the merchant's Web site, i.e., the merchant server39, identified by the URL in a block 264 in FIG. 15C.

80. Billing continues at the premium rate as the consumer continuesaccessing the premium content and only terminates when the consumerchooses to disconnect from the merchant server 39 and billing server 34by selecting a disconnect button 294 in the timer window 290 shown inFIG. 16C. In this regard, the logic determines in a block 266 if theconsumer has chosen the disconnect button 294. If so, the logic proceedsto a block 271 where the PPP connection to the billing server 34 via thepremium telephone line is terminated, thus also ending the consumercomputer's Internet connection with the merchant server 39. It will beappreciated that once the PPP connection is terminated, billing for theuse of the premium telephone number ends as well. Accordingly, in ablock 272 the premium access timer is terminated, and in a block 274,the plug-in 52′ calculates the total cost to the consumer for accessingthe premium content by multiplying the time spent by the consumer on thepremium telephone line by the actual rate. The total cost is thendisplayed in the timer window 290 as shown in FIG. 16C. Next, in a block276 a termination window 296 as shown in FIG. 16D is displayed to theconsumer on the display 73 of the consumer's computer in a block 276.From the termination window 296, the consumer may choose to reconnect tothe Internet 20 via its normal Internet service provider. The logic ofthe plug-in component 52′ then ends in a block 278.

81. Returning to decision block 266, if the consumer does not choose todisconnect from the billing server 34, the consumer may instead chooseto create a bookmark to the premium Web site in case the consumer wishesto access the premium content again. If the consumer does choose tocreate a bookmark, a bookmark icon containing the URL for the merchant'spremium Web site, the premium number associated with the premium contentand the actual rate for the premium content is generated on the displayof the consumer's computer for future use. If the consumer does not wishto create a bookmark or has already created a bookmark, the logicreturns to block 264 so that the consumer may continue to access thepremium content.

82. It will be appreciated that the operation of the plug-in component52′ is slightly different if the consumer chooses to access themerchant's premium Web site via the created bookmark because the plug-incomponent will already have in its possession the premium phone numberassociated with the desired premium content and the actual rate foraccessing the premium content. Consequently, it is unnecessary for theplug-in component to obtain that information from the billing server 34.The logic implemented by the plug-in component when a premium contentbookmark is selected by the consumer is shown in more detail FIG. 17 anddenoted hereafter as plug-in component 52″. The logic begins in a block300 and proceeds to a block 302 in which the consumer's computer 42establishes an Internet connection to the billing server 34. Next, in ablock 304, the plug-in 52″ displays a premium content access window 310as shown in FIG. 18 on the screen 73 of the consumer's computer 42. Thepremium content access window 310 confirms the consumer's order forpremium content, and displays the previously obtained premium telephonenumber and actual premium rate at which the consumer will be billed infields 312 and 314, respectively. If the consumer enters “OK,” the logicin FIG. 17 will proceed to a block 306 where the plug-in 52″ transfersto the billing server 34, the purchaser I.D., product I.D., merchantI.D. and actual rate. The consumer's computer then waits for the billingserver 34 to return the transaction I.D. for the order in a decisionblock 308. Once received, the logic then proceeds to block 252 on FIG.15B such that the remaining logic shown in FIGS. 15B and 15C asdescribed above in connection with plug-in component 52′ is performed.

83. Now that the logic implemented by the plug-in components 52′ and 52″have been discussed, it is necessary to describe the billing servercomponent 62′ implemented by the billing server 34 to supply theconsumer's computer with the information it will require to gain accessto the premium content. It will be appreciated, however, that the logicimplemented by the billing server component 62′ in the second embodimentof the present invention is slightly different than that described abovein connection with the first embodiment. Hence, the reference number(62) for the billing server component in the second embodiment isdenoted with a prime. As shown in FIG. 19, the logic implemented by thebilling server component 62′ to provide the premium telephone numberbegins in a block 320 and proceeds to a decision block 322 where itdetermines whether the connection between the consumer's computer 42 andthe billing server 34 has been established via the Internet 20. If not,decision block 322 is merely repeated until such a connection has beenestablished. Next, in a block 324, the billing server component 62′determines if the product I.D., merchant I.D., rate and purchaser I.D.have been received from the consumer's computer 42, if not, decisionblock 324 is repeated until such information has been received.

84. Once the product I.D., merchant I.D., purchaser I.D. and rate havebeen received, the billing server component 62′ determines if theconsumer is new in a decision block 326, i.e., if this is the first timethe consumer has placed an order for premium content. If this is thefirst time, the plug-in 52′ will be unable to provide the billing server34 with the purchaser I.D. for the consumer. Accordingly, the billingserver component 62′ assigns the consumer a purchaser I.D. in a block328. As noted above, the plug-in 52′ will return this purchaser I.D.each subsequent time the consumer places an order. The purchaser I.D.and merchant I.D. are logged in the product and information database 64of the billing server 34 and used for accounting, reporting andrecordkeeping purposes, such as payment histories, customerdemographics, account reconciliation, etc.

85. If the consumer is not a first-time buyer or, is a first-time buyerand thus, has been assigned a purchaser I.D., the logic proceeds to adecision block 332, where the billing server component 62′ determineswhether an order by this particular consumer should be denied. Morespecifically, the billing server 34 determines whether the purchaserI.D. is valid. If not, the consumer placing the order is notified in ablock 334 and the PPP connection between the billing server 34 and theconsumer's computer 42 is disconnected in a block 336. The logic thenends in a block 338. On the other hand, if the purchaser I.D. is valid,the logic proceeds from decision block 332 to a block 340 where thebilling server 34 assigns a transaction I.D. to the order and transfersthe transaction I.D. to the consumer's computer 42. The transaction I.D.identifies the consumer, the product ordered (by product I.D.) and thebilling server 34. As noted above, the plug-in 52′ installed on theconsumer's computer 42 waits for this transaction I.D. beforedisconnecting from the Internet 20 and establishing a PPP connectionwith the billing server 34. The logic of FIG. 19 then ends in a block342.

86. The logic employed by the billing server component 62′ to obtain theinformation necessary for the consumer computer 42 to access the premiumcontent from the merchant server 39 and provide the same to theconsumer's computer 42 is depicted in FIGS. 20A-20B. The logic begins inFIG. 20A in a block 350 and proceeds to a decision block 352 where thebilling server component 62 determines if a PPP connection has beenestablished to the billing server 34 by any consumer computer 42installed with the plug-in 52′. As noted above, many consumers may beplacing orders at any given time, and hence, many computers may beattempting to establish a PPP connection to the billing server 34 sothat they may obtain access to the premium content they desire. Hence,decision block 352 is repeated until such a connection has beenestablished.

87. Once a PPP connection has been established, the logic proceeds to adecision block 354 where it determines if the billing server 34 hasreceived the transaction I.D. from the consumer computer signaling thatthe consumer's computer is requesting access to premium content. If not,decision block 354 is merely repeated until such time as the transactionI.D. is received. Once received, the logic proceeds to a block 356 wherethe billing server obtains the Automated Number Identification (ANI) ofthe PPP connection between the billing server and the consumer'scomputer 42 from the access server 38. The ANI is logged by the billingserver 34 in the product and information database 64 and is also usedfor accounting, reporting and recordkeeping procedures. In addition, thebilling server obtains an Internet Protocol (IP) address that wasassigned to the consumer's computer 42 by the access server 38 when thePPP connection was established. As will be described in more detailbelow, the billing server 34 will transfer the transaction I.D. andconsumer computer IP address to the merchant server 39 in order toretrieve the access information desired by the consumer.

88. Next, in a block 358, the billing server component 62′ confirms thatthe consumer's computer 42 has dialed the correct premium telephonenumber for the desired premium content. It will be appreciated, that thepremium content is identified by the product I.D. and that each productI.D. is associated with a particular premium telephone number in thedatabase of product and logged information 64 stored in mass memory 64of the billing server 34. Consequently, the billing server component 62″determines if the premium telephone number dialed by the consumer'scomputer to establish the current PPP connection matches the premiumtelephone number associated with the premium content (i.e., productI.D.) received from the consumer's computer in decision block 354. Ifthe correct premium telephone number has been dialed, the logic willproceed from a decision block 360 to a block 366 in which the merchantproviding the ordered premium content is identified by the billingserver 34. More specifically, each product I.D. identifying premiumcontent is associated with a particular merchant, and this associationis stored in the product and logged information database 67 of thebilling server 34. Once the merchant has been identified in block 366,the billing server component 62′ obtains the location of the merchantserver 39 for the particular merchant server 39, i.e., the InternetProtocol (IP) address, which stores the premium content from the productand logged information database 67 in a block 368.

89. Next, in a block 370 shown in FIG. 20B, the billing server 34establishes an Internet connection with the located merchant server 39using the IP address obtained in block 368. Once the connection has beenestablished, the billing server transfers the transaction I.D. and theIP address for the consumer's computer 42 to the merchant server 39 in ablock 372. As will be described in more detail below, the merchantserver 39 will send the billing server 34 the information necessary forthe consumer computer 42 to access the premium content in response tothe transaction I.D. received from the billing server 34. Accordingly,in a decision block 374 the logic determines if the billing server 34has received an access I.D., password and URL for the premium contentfrom the merchant server 39. If not, decision block 374 is merelyrepeated until such time as the billing server 34 receives thisinformation. Once received, the billing server 34 forwards the accessI.D., password and URL to the consumer's computer 42 in a block 376 sothat the consumer's computer 42 may launch its Web browser 51 with theappropriate URL, establish an Internet connection to the merchant server39 and provide the merchant server 36 with the access I.D. necessary foraccessing the IP session the merchant server 39 has designated for it,and the password necessary for gaining entry to the premium content. Thelogic then proceeds to decision block 378 where it determines if theconsumer's computer 42 has terminated its PPP connection with thebilling server 34. If not, decision block 378 is merely repeated untilthe PPP connection has been terminated. In other words, as long as theconsumer computer 42 continues to download the premium content from themerchant server 39 and as long as the PPP connection between thecomputer 42 and the billing server 34 is maintained, the consumer willbe billed at the actual rate supplied by the billing server 34 until thePPP connection established using the premium telephone number isterminated, i.e., until the consumer “hangs up.”

90. Once the PPP connection between the consumer's computer 42 and thebilling server 34 is terminated, the billing server 34 transfers to themerchant server 39 a request to deny the consumer computer 42 furtheraccess to the premium content, which includes the transaction I.D., theconsumer computer's IP address and the access I.D. in a block 380. Aswill be described in more detail below, in response to this request, themerchant server 39 will deny further access to the consumer computer 42until the consumer computer 42 re-orders the premium content andestablishes a new PPP connection to the billing server 34 via a premiumtelephone line by which the consumer will be billed. Once the denyrequest is sent, the billing server 34 disconnects from the merchantserver 39 in a block 381. The logic for the billing server component 62′then ends in a block 382.

91. The logic implemented by the merchant session gateway component 65to provide the billing server 34 with access information to the orderedpremium content, is shown in more detail in FIG. 21. The logic begins ina block 390 and proceeds to a block 392 where it determines if thedirect Internet connection between the merchant server 39 and thebilling server 34 has been established. If not, decision block 392 ismerely repeated until such connection has been established. Onceestablished, the logic proceeds to another decision block 394 in whichthe merchant session gateway component 65 determines if the merchantserver 39 has received from the billing server 34 a transaction I.D.identifying the ordered premium content and the IP address assigned tothe consumer computer 42. The consumer computer's IP address is loggedin the product database 67 of the merchant server 39 and is used laterby the merchant server 39 to verify that the merchant server 39 istransferring the ordered premium content to a valid IP address, i.e., tothe appropriate consumer's computer.

92. Returning to decision block 394, if the result is negative, decisionblock 394 is repeated until such information is received from thebilling server 34. In other words, once an Internet connection is madebetween the billing server 34 and merchant server 39, the merchantserver 39 waits to receive a transaction I.D. for premium content from abilling server 34. Once received, the merchant session gateway component65 transfers the URL for the ordered premium content, as well as anaccess I.D. and a password, to the billing server 34. It will beappreciated that in the second embodiment of the present inventiondescribed herein, each product I.D. is associated with a URL in theproduct database 67 of the merchant server 39. As noted above, the URLprovides the location on the Internet of the premium content. It will beappreciated that the premium content may be located on the merchantserver 39 implementing the present logic or on another merchant serverlocated elsewhere on the Internet. As also noted above, the access I.D.identifies the IP session assigned by the merchant server 39 to whichthe consumer's computer 42 may have access so as to download the orderedpremium content from the merchant server. Finally, the password is aunique string of characters that the consumer's computer 42 willeventually return to the merchant server 39 for approval to enter thepremium content site.

93. After the merchant server 39 transfers the URL, access I.D. andpassword to the billing server 34, the merchant session gatewaycomponent 65 waits for an indication from the billing server 34 that theconsumer has ended the premium telephone call. Accordingly, in adecision block 398, the logic determines if the merchant server 39 hasreceived a request from the billing server 34 to deny access to theconsumer's computer 42. As noted above, when the billing server 34detects that the consumer's computer has terminated the PPP connectionwith the billing server and disconnected from the premium telephoneline, the billing server 34 transfers the transaction I.D., consumercomputer's IP address and the access I.D. originally assigned by themerchant server, to the merchant server 39 in a request to deny furtheraccess to that consumer. Therefore, until such a request is received,the decision block 398 is merely repeated. It will be appreciated fromthe description above, that while the merchant session gateway component65 waits for the consumer's computer 42 to terminate the premiumtelephone call, the merchant server 39 will transfer the premium contentto the consumer's computer 42 (and such transfers will be governed bythe Web server component 63 of the merchant server 39) and the consumerwill continue to access the premium content while being billed. Further,as noted above, as the merchant server 39 transfers, and the consumer'scomputer 42 downloads, the ordered premium content, the merchant server39 uses the consumer IP address stored in mass memory 61 and previouslytransferred by the billing server 34 to verify that it is transferringeach page of the ordered premium content to the correct destination,i.e., that the IP address of the consumer's computer 42 downloading thepremium content matches the consumer IP address the merchant server 39has stored in its memory.

94. Once the request to deny access is received, the merchant sessiongateway component 65 invalidates the access I.D. and consumer IP addresspreviously given to the consumer's computer 42 so that the consumer'scomputer 42 can no longer gain access from the assigned IP session withthe merchant server 39. Consequently, the consumer's computer 42 can nolonger communicate with the merchant server and can no longer access thepremium content. The logic of the merchant session gateway component 65then ends in a block 402.

95. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art thatonce the PPP connection between the consumer's computer 42 and thebilling server 34 using a premium telephone line has been established,the telephone service provider begins billing the consumer for theduration of the premium telephone call using methods well known in theart. Once the consumer's computer terminates the PPP connection usingthe premium telephone number, i.e., “hangs-up,” billing ceases, just asit would with any other premium telephone call. The telephone serviceprovider then pays a service charge to the provider of the billingserver 34, and pays the merchant its portion for providing the premiumcontent.

96. FIGS. 22A-22B are an overall diagram depicting the actions of theplug-in component 52′/consumer's computer 42, the billing servercomponent 62′/billing server 34, and merchant session gateway component65/merchant server 39 in parallel. Consequently, FIG. 22A depicts theconsumer's computer 42 establishing an Internet connection to thebilling server 34. The consumer's computer 42 then transfers the productI.D. identifying the ordered premium content to the billing server 34 aswell as a merchant I.D., advertised billing rate and purchaser I.D. Inresponse, the billing server 34 transfers a transaction I.D. identifyingthe order back to the consumer's computer 42. The billing server 34 alsotransfers the premium telephone number associated with the orderedpremium content and the actual premium rate at which the consumer willbe billed for accessing the premium content. Once the consumer'scomputer 42 has received the transaction I.D. and premium telephonenumber, the consumer's computer 42 disconnects from the Internet 20 anddials the premium telephone number transferred by the billing server 34in order to establish a PPP connection with the billing server 34. Onceestablished, billing for the consumer's time spent accessing the premiumcontent begins and a consumer's computer 42 transfers the transactionI.D. back to the billing server 34 so that the billing server component62′ may identify the order and forward it to the appropriate merchantserver 39.

97. Accordingly, the billing server 34 establishes an Internetconnection to the merchant server 39 and transfers the transaction I.D.and consumer computer's IP address to the merchant server 39. Inresponse, the merchant server 39 transfers to the billing server 34 theaccess information, i.e., an access I.D., password, and URL, which willbe used by the consumer's computer 42 to locate and access the desiredpremium content. In turn, the billing server 34 transfers the accessinformation to the consumer's computer 42. Once the consumer computer 42receives the access information, the consumer's computer 42 is providedan Internet connection and locates the merchant server 39 and thepremium content stored there using the URL. The consumer computer 42then transfers the password and access I.D. it has been given to themerchant server 39. In response, the merchant server 39 transfers theordered premium content to the consumer's computer 42. It will beappreciated that during such time, the consumer will continue to bebilled for its time accessing the premium content because the PPPconnection between the consumer's computer 42 and billing server 34 on apremium telephone line is maintained. However, once the consumer'scomputer terminates the PPP connection, the billing ends and the billingserver 39 transfers a request to deny access to the premium content tothe merchant server 19 so that the merchant server 19 may deny futureaccess to the premium content to the consumer's computer 42 (unless, ofcourse, the consumer re-orders the premium content using the plug-incomponent 52′ or 52″, as described above). The billing sever 34 thenterminates it Internet connection with the merchant server 39.

98. While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changescan be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, the billing system of the present invention maybe used to order products that are not electronically stored anddelivered. Rather, the products are delivered by some other method,e.g., postal service, express package service, etc. In such cases,instead of providing the plug-in 52 with an encrypted product and anaccess key for decrypting the encrypted product, the consumer isprovided with an access key or claim number that must be presented upondelivery of the product so that the consumer may claim the product. Thebilling system of the present invention may also be used to orderproducts that may be used by the consumer only for a predetermined timeperiod. For example, the consumer may purchase an hour of computer gametime. In such cases, the consumer is not allowed to begin play of thegame until provided an access key, which is then returned to thecomputer game provider.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A method for ordering aproduct over an internetwork of computer systems, wherein the product isordered by a consumer from a computer connected to the internetwork andsupplied by a merchant with a server connected to the internetwork, themethod comprising: (a) establishing a connection between the computerand the server via the internetwork of computer systems; (b)transferring a transaction identification from the server to thecomputer, wherein the transaction identification identifies the currenttransaction including the product ordered and the consumer ordering theproduct; (c) terminating the connection between the computer and theserver via the internetwork of computer systems; (d) establishing adirect connection between the computer and the server; (e) transferringthe transaction identification from the computer to the server toidentify the product ordered and the consumer ordering the product; and(f) transferring an access key assigned to the product ordered and theconsumer ordering the product from the server to the computer that isused to claim the product ordered by the consumer.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 , further comprising: (a) while the computer is connected to theserver via the internetwork of computer systems, transferring anencrypted version of the product from the server to the computer; and(b) after transferring the access key from the server to the computer,claiming the product ordered by the consumer by decrypting the encryptedversion of the product using the access key.
 3. The method of claim 1 ,wherein the direct connection between the computer and the server isestablished via a telephone link administered by a telephone serviceprovider so that when the direct connection between the computer and theserver is established, the telephone service provider automaticallycharges for the telephone link and the product ordered.
 4. The method ofclaim 3 , wherein the telephone link is associated with a 900 telephonenumber.
 5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connection between thecomputer and the server via the internetwork of computer systems isterminated before the transaction identification is transferred, if theorder of the product is denied.
 6. The method of claim 1 , wherein theaccess key is generated at random.
 7. The method of claim 1 , whereinthe access key is selected from a list of predetermined access keys. 8.The method of claim 1 , wherein the direct connection between thecomputer and the server is terminated before the access key istransferred if the order of the product is denied.
 9. The method ofclaim 3 , wherein the direct connection between the computer and theserver is terminated before the access key is transferred if thetransaction identification is not transferred from the computer to theserver within a predetermined time interval.
 10. An apparatus forordering a product from a plurality of computers and servers connectedto form an internetwork, the apparatus comprising: (a) a consumer'scomputer comprising a processing unit and a storage medium, the storagemedium containing program code executed by the processing unit forplacing an order for the product; and (b) a billing server comprising aprocessing unit and a storage medium, the storage medium containingprogram code executed by the processing unit for responding to the orderfor the product placed by the consumer's computer.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10 , wherein the program code executed by the processing unit ofthe consumer's computer places an order for the product by: (a)establishing a connection to the billing server via an internetworkcommunication link; and (b) transferring the order to the billing servervia the internetwork communication link.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 ,wherein the program code executed by the processing unit of the billingserver responds to the order for the product placed by the consumer'scomputer by transferring a transaction identification to the consumer'scomputer via the internetwork communication link, which identifies theorder placed by the consumer's computer.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 ,wherein the program code executed by the processing unit of theconsumer's computer further places the order by: (a) terminating theconnection to the billing server via the internetwork communication linkafter the transaction identification has been received from the billingserver; (b) establishing a connection to the billing server via atelephone link; and (c) transferring the transaction identification backto the billing server via the telephone link.
 14. The apparatus of claim13 , wherein the program code executed by the processing unit of thebilling server further responds to the order placed by the consumer'scomputer by transferring an access key assigned to the order placed bythe consumer's computer after the billing server receives thetransaction identification identifying the order placed from theconsumer's computer.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the programcode executed by the processing unit of the billing server furtherresponds to the order for the product placed by the consumer's computerby transferring an encrypted version of the product to the consumer'scomputer via the internetwork communication link before the consumer'scomputer terminates the connection to the billing server via theinternetwork communication link.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15 , whereinthe program code executed by the processing unit of the consumer'scomputer further places the order by decrypting the encrypted version ofthe product using the access key transferred to the consumer's computerby the billing server via the telephone link.
 17. The apparatus of claim13 , wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the order placedby the consumer's computer by the telephone service provider of thetelephone link.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the consumer'scomputer dials a 900 telephone number to establish the telephone link.19. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the program code executed by theprocessing unit of the billing server further responds to the orderplaced by the consumer's computer by terminating the connection betweenthe computer and the server via the internetwork communication linkbefore the transaction identification is transferred to the consumer'scomputer if orders placed by the consumer are to be denied.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 14 , wherein the program code executed by theprocessing unit of the billing server further responds to the orderplaced by the consumer's computer by terminating the connection betweenthe consumer's computer and the billing server via the telephone linkbefore the access key is transferred to the consumer's computer iforders placed by the consumer are to be denied.
 21. A computer-readablemedium having a computer-executable component for ordering a productfrom a plurality of computers and servers connected to form aninternetwork, the computer-executable component comprising a plug-incomponent for ordering a product from the plurality of computers andservers connected to form the internetwork, wherein the plug-incomponent places an order for the product by: (a) establishing aninternetwork communication link with a server connected to theinternetwork which provides the product ordered; (b) obtaining atransaction identification which identifies the order from said server;(c) disconnecting the internetwork communication link with said server;(d) establishing a telephone communication link with said server; (e)transferring the transaction identification to said server to identifythe order placed; and (f) obtaining an access key assigned to the orderidentified by the transaction identification which is used to claim theordered product.
 22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21 having afurther computer-executable component comprising a billing component forverifying the order placed by the plug-in component, wherein the billingcomponent verifies the order placed by: (a) providing the transactionidentification to the plug-in component once the internetworkcommunication link with said server connected to the internetwork isestablished by the plug-in component; and (b) providing the access keyto the plug-in component once the telephone communication link with saidserver is established by the plug-in component.
 23. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 22 , wherein the billing componentalso provides the plug-in component with an encrypted version of theproduct ordered before the plug-in component disconnects theinternetwork communication link with said server.
 24. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 23 , wherein the plug-in componentdecrypts the encrypted version of the product ordered with the accesskey provided by the billing component.
 25. The computer-readable mediumof claim 21 , wherein the telephone communication link is associatedwith a 900 telephone number.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim21 , wherein the telephone communication link established by the plug-incomponent is administered by a telephone service provider which billsfor the product ordered via the telephone communication link.
 27. Acomputer-readable medium having a computer-executable component forfulfilling an order for a product placed by a computer connected to aninternetwork of computers and servers, the computer-executable componentcomprising a billing component which fulfills the order by: (a)providing said computer a transaction identification assigned to theorder after an internetwork connection with said computer isestablished; and (b) providing said computer an access key assigned tothe order identified by the transaction identification after apoint-to-point connection with said computer is established and aftersaid computer returns the transaction identification.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 27 having a furthercomputer-executable component comprising a plug-in component for placingthe order for the product, wherein the plug-in component places theorder for the product by: (a) establishing the internetwork connectionwith said computer; (b) receiving the transaction identificationprovided by the billing component; (c) disconnecting the internetworkconnection with said computer; (d) establishing the point-to-pointconnection with said computer; (e) returning the transactionidentification to the billing component; and (f) receiving the accesskey assigned to the order identified by the transaction identificationwhich is used to claim the ordered product.
 29. The computer-readablemedium of claim 28 , wherein the billing component also provides saidcomputer with an encrypted version of the product ordered before theplug-in component disconnects the internetwork connection with saidcomputer.
 30. The computer-readable medium of claim 29 , wherein theplug-in component decrypts the encrypted version of the product with theaccess key provided said computer by the billing component.
 31. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 27 , wherein the telephonecommunication link is associated with a 900 telephone number.
 32. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 27 , wherein the telephonecommunication link established by the plug-in component is administeredby a telephone service provider which bills for the product ordered viathe telephone communication link.
 33. A method for ordering a productover an internetwork of computer systems, wherein the product is orderedby a consumer's computer connected to the internetwork, the methodcomprising: (a) establishing a premium telephone connection between theconsumer's computer and a billing server connected to the internetwork;and (b) during the premium telephone connection between the consumer'scomputer and the billing server: (i) establishing an internetworkconnection between the consumer's computer and a merchant serverconnected to the internetwork which is capable of providing the orderedproduct; and (ii) transferring the ordered product from the merchantserver to the consumer's computer.
 34. The method of claim 33 , furthercomprising: (a) terminating the premium telephone connection theconsumer's computer and the billing server; and (b) calculating a chargefor the ordered product based on a predetermined rate and the durationof the premium telephone connection between the consumer's computer andthe billing server.
 35. The method of claim 34 , further comprising:after the premium telephone connection between the consumer's computerand the billing server is terminated, (a) transferring a request to denythe order for the product from the billing server to the merchant servervia an internetwork connection between the billing server and themerchant server; and (b) prohibiting further transfer of the orderedproduct to the consumer's computer.
 36. The method of claim 33 , furthercomprising: prior to establishing the premium telephone connectionbetween the consumer's computer and the billing server, (a) establishingan internetwork connection between the consumer's computer and thebilling server; (b) transferring an order for the product from theconsumer's computer to the billing server; and (c) transferring apremium telephone number associated with the ordered product from thebilling server to the consumer's computer, wherein the premium telephonenumber is used to establish the premium telephone connection between theconsumer's computer and the billing server.
 37. The method of claim 33 ,further comprising: prior to establishing the internetwork connectionbetween the consumer's computer and the merchant server, transferringaccess information for the ordered product from the billing server tothe consumer's computer via the premium telephone connection between theconsumer's computer and the billing server, wherein the accessinformation includes a locator for the ordered product on the merchantserver, a password for claiming the ordered product, and an accessidentification identifying a communication session designated for use bythe consumer's computer during the internetwork connection between theconsumer's computer and the merchant server.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein establishing the internetwork connection between theconsumer's computer and the merchant server comprises: (a) locating themerchant server and ordered product with the locator transferred to theconsumer's computer by the billing server; (b) obtaining access to theconsumer's computer to the designated communication session identifiedby the access identification; and (c) providing the password to themerchant server.
 39. The method of claim 33 , wherein the premiumtelephone connection is established by dialing a 900 telephone number.40. An apparatus for ordering a product from a plurality of computersand servers connected to form an internetwork, the apparatus comprising:(a) a consumer's computer comprising a network interface for connectingto the internetwork, a processing unit coupled to the network interface,and a storage medium coupled to the processing unit, the storage mediumcontaining program code executed by the processing unit for placing anorder for the product; (b) a billing server comprising a networkinterface for connecting to the internetwork, a processing unit coupledto the network interface, and a storage medium coupled to the processingunit, the storage medium containing program code executed by theprocessing unit for processing the order placed by the consumer'scomputer; and (c) a merchant server comprising a network interface forconnecting to the internetwork, a processing unit coupled to the networkinterface, and a storage medium coupled to the processing unit, thestorage medium containing program code executed by the processing unitfor supplying the order placed by the consumer's computer and processedby the billing server.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein theprogram code executed by the processing unit of the consumer's computerplaces the order for the product by: (a) establishing an internetworkcommunication link to the billing server; and (b) transferring the orderto the billing server via the internetwork communication link.
 42. Theapparatus of claim 41 , wherein the program code executed by theprocessing unit of the billing server processes the order for theproduct placed by the consumer's computer by: transferring to theconsumer's computer via the internetwork communication link, (a) apremium telephone number associated with the product ordered; and (b) apremium billing rate associated with the product ordered and the premiumtelephone number.
 43. The apparatus of claim 42 , wherein the programcode executed by the processing unit of the consumer's computer furtherplaces the order by: (a) terminating the internetwork communication linkto the billing server after the premium telephone number and premiumbilling rate have been received from the billing server; and (b)establishing a premium communication link to the billing server usingthe premium telephone number.
 44. The apparatus of claim 43 , whereinthe program code executed by the processing unit of the billing serverfurther processes the order placed by the consumer's computer by: (a)establishing an internetwork communication link to the merchant serverafter the premium communications link between the consumer's computerand the billing server is established; and (b) forwarding the order tothe merchant server via the internetwork communication link.
 45. Theapparatus of claim 44 , wherein the program code executed by theprocessing unit of the merchant server supplies the order for theproduct placed by the consumer's computer and forwarded by the billingserver by transferring access information to the billing server whichidentifies: (a) a location of the product in the plurality of computersand servers connected to form the internetwork; (b) a designatedcommunication session during which the consumer's computer may downloadthe located product; and (c) a password for claiming the locatedproduct.
 46. The apparatus of claim 45 , wherein the program codeexecuted by the processing unit of the billing server further processesthe order placed by the consumer's computer by forwarding the accessinformation to the consumer's computer via the premium communicationlink.
 47. The apparatus of claim 46 , wherein the program code executedby the processing unit of the consumer's computer uses the accessinformation transferred by the billing server to locate and download theordered product.
 48. The apparatus of claim 47 , wherein the programcode executed by the processing unit of the consumer's computerterminates the order for the product by terminating the premiumcommunication link between the consumer's computer and the billingserver after the ordered product is downloaded.
 49. The apparatus ofclaim 48 , wherein the program code executed by the processing unit ofthe consumer's computer calculates a charge for the ordered productbased on: (a) the premium billing rate associated with the premiumtelephone number and the product ordered; and (b) the duration of thepremium communication link between the consumer's computer and thebilling server.
 50. The apparatus of claim 48 , wherein the program codeexecuted by the processing unit of the billing server transfers arequest to deny the order placed by the consumer's computer after thepremium communication link between the consumer's computer and thebilling server is terminated.
 51. The apparatus of claim 50 , whereinthe program code executed by the processing unit of the merchant serverinvalidates the access information for the ordered product in responseto the request transferred by the billing server.
 52. Acomputer-readable medium having a computer-executable component forordering a product from a plurality of computers and servers connectedto form an internetwork, the computer-executable component comprising aplug-in component for ordering a product from the plurality of computersand servers connected to form the internetwork, wherein the plug-incomponent places an order for the product by: (a) establishing a premiumtelephone communication link with a billing server connected to theinternetwork which processes the order for the product; (b) transferringthe order for the product to the billing server for processing; (c)obtaining access information for the ordered product, wherein the accessinformation identifies the merchant server connected to the internetworkwhich provides the ordered product; and (d) obtaining the orderedproduct from the merchant server using the access information during thepremium telephone communication link with the billing server.
 53. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 52 , wherein the premium telephonecommunication link established with the billing server is administeredby a telephone service provider which calculates a charge for theordered product by multiplying a predetermined rate associated with thepremium telephone communication link and the ordered product by theduration of the premium telephone communication link with the billingserver.
 54. The computer readable medium of claim 52 having a furthercomputer-executable component comprising a billing component forprocessing the order placed by the plug-in component, wherein thebilling component processes the order by: (a) providing the plug-incomponent with a premium telephone number used to establish the premiumtelephone communication link with the billing server; and (b) after thepremium telephone communication link with the consumer computer isestablished, (i) establishing an internetwork communication link with amerchant server connected to the internetwork which supplies the accessinformation for the ordered product; and (ii) forwarding the order forthe product to the merchant server.
 55. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 54 having a further computer-executable component comprising amerchant component for supplying the access information for the orderedproduct to the plug-in component, wherein the merchant componentsupplies the access information by: (a) assigning an accessidentification to a designated communication session between theconsumer's computer and the merchant server; (b) assigning a passwordfor claiming the ordered product; (c) generating a locator for theordered product identifying the location of the ordered product in theinternetwork; and (d) supplying the access identification, password andlocator to the billing component.
 56. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 55 , wherein the billing component further processes the order byforwarding the access identification, password and locator received fromthe merchant component to the plug-in component.
 57. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 52 , wherein the premium telephonecommunication link is associated with a 900 number.
 58. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 54 , wherein the plug-in componentfurther places the order for the product by creating a bookmark for theordered product which contains the premium telephone number used toestablish the premium telephone communication link to the billingserver.
 59. A computer-readable medium having a computer-executablecomponent for processing an order for a product placed by a consumercomputer connected to an internetwork of computers and servers, thecomputer-executable component comprising a billing component whichprocesses the order by: (a) providing the consumer computer with apremium telephone number for establishing a premium communication linkbetween the consumer computer and the billing server; and (b) providingthe consumer computer with access information which enables the consumercomputer to access the ordered product while the consumer computer andthe billing server are connected via the premium communication link. 60.The computer-readable medium of claim 59 , wherein the premium telephonecommunication link established between the consumer computer and thebilling server is administered by a telephone service provider whichcalculates a charge for the ordered product by multiplying apredetermined rate associated with the premium telephone communicationlink and the ordered product by the duration of the premium telephonecommunication link between the consumer computer and the billing server.61. The computer-readable medium of claim 59 , having a furthercomputer-executable component comprising a plug-in component for placingthe order for the product, wherein the plug-in component places theorder for the product by: (a) providing a graphical user interface whichenables a consumer to select the product and be automatically billed forthe product by the consumer's telephone service provider; and (b)establishing the premium communication link with the billing serverusing the premium telephone number provided by the billing servercomponent.
 62. The computer-readable medium of claim 59 , having afurther computer-executable component comprising a merchant componentfor supplying the consumer computer with access to the ordered product,wherein the merchant component supplies the access to the orderedproduct by: (a) assigning an access identification to a designatedcommunication session between the consumer's computer and the merchantserver; (b) assigning a password for claiming the ordered product; and(c) generating a locator for the ordered product identifying thelocation of the ordered product on a particular merchant serverconnected to the internetwork.
 63. A computer-readable medium having acomputer-executable component for supplying a consumer computerconnected to an internetwork of computers and servers with access to aproduct ordered by the consumer computer, the computer-executablecomponent comprising a merchant component which processes the order by:(a) establishing an internetwork communication link between a merchantserver and a billing server connected to the internetwork, wherein thebilling server processes the order for the product placed by theconsumer computer; and (b) providing the billing server with accessinformation to be used by the consumer computer to access the orderedproduct from an identified server connected to the internetwork whilethe consumer computer and the billing server are connected via a premiumcommunication link.
 64. The computer-readable medium of claim 63 ,wherein the premium communication link between the consumer computer andthe billing server is administered by a telephone service provider whichcalculates a charge for the ordered product by multiplying apredetermined rate associated with the premium communication link andthe ordered product by the duration of the premium telephonecommunication link between the consumer computer and the billing server.65. The computer-readable medium of claim 63 , having a furthercomputer-executable component comprising a billing component forprocessing the order placed by the consumer computer, wherein thebilling component processes the order by: (a) providing the consumercomputer with a premium telephone number used by the consumer computerto establish the premium communication link between the consumercomputer and the billing server; and (b) forwarding the order placed bythe consumer computer to the merchant component via the internetworkcommunication link between the merchant server and the billing server.66. The computer-readable medium of claim 63 , wherein the billingcomponent further forwards the access information provided by themerchant component to the consumer computer.
 67. The computer-readablemedium of claim 63 having a further computer-executable componentcomprising a plug-in component for placing the order for the product,wherein the plug-in component places the order by: (a) enabling aconsumer to place the order for the product; (b) establishing thepremium communication link between the consumer computer and the billingserver using the premium telephone number provided by the billingserver; and (c) forwarding the order to the billing server via thepremium telephone communication link.